The Buckeyes are in the thick of the College Football Playoff race.
The College Football Playoff rankings are here, and Ohio State is among the contenders, coming in at No. 5 in the committee's initial rankings.
The Big Ten leads all conferences with three teams in the top-7 of the rankings – Michigan State at No. 3, Ohio State at No. 5 and Michigan at No. 7.
Ohio State is not among the top four teams in the committee rankings yet, but there is plenty of time to improve its resume.
The Buckeyes have remaining regular-season games against both Michigan State and Michigan followed by a potential Big Ten Championship game, which could be against a number of Big Ten West teams – No. 20 Minnesota, No. 21 Wisconsin or No. 22 Iowa.
A lot can change between now and the final rankings at the end of the season. In 2014, Ohio State was ranked No. 16 in the country in the initial College Football Playoff rankings before ultimately winning the national title about two months later.
Here are the full rankings:
| RK | Team | REC | Next Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Georgia
|
8-0 | vs Missouri |
| 2 |
 Alabama
|
7-1 | vs LSU |
| 3 |
 Michigan State
|
8-0 | @ Purdue |
| 4 |
 Oregon
|
7-1 | @ Washington |
| 5 |
 Ohio State
|
7-1 | @ Nebraska |
| 6 |
 Cincinnati
|
8-0 | vs Tulsa |
| 7 |
 Michigan
|
7-1 | vs Indiana |
| 8 |
 Oklahoma
|
9-0 | - |
| 9 |
 Wake Forest
|
8-0 | @ North Carolina |
| 10 |
 Notre Dame
|
7-1 | vs Navy |
| 11 |
 Oklahoma State
|
7-1 | @ West Virginia |
| 12 |
 Baylor
|
7-1 | @ TCU |
| 13 |
 Auburn
|
6-2 | @ #14 Texas A&M |
| 14 |
 Texas A&M
|
6-2 | vs #13 Auburn |
| 15 |
 BYU
|
7-2 | vs Idaho State |
| 16 |
 Ole Miss
|
6-2 | vs Liberty |
| 17 |
 Mississippi State
|
5-3 | @ Arkansas |
| 18 |
 Kentucky
|
6-2 | vs Tennessee |
| 19 |
 NC State
|
6-2 | @ Florida State |
| 20 |
 Minnesota
|
6-2 | vs Illinois |
| 21 |
 Wisconsin
|
5-3 | @ Rutgers |
| 22 |
 Iowa
|
6-2 | @ Northwestern |
| 23 |
 Fresno State
|
7-2 | vs Boise State |
| 24 |
 San Diego State
|
7-1 | @ Hawai'i |
| 25 |
 Pittsburgh
|
6-2 | @ Duke |
